Enough tinkering. Time for Sabres to get Zach Metsa back
When Metsa has been on the ice at 5 on 5 this season, the Sabres have outscored their opponents by an astonishing count of 23-2 and their goalies have a .989 save percentage.
It feels like the Buffalo Sabres were guilty of some organizational arrogance over the first three games of their homestand.
They were messing with the Hockey Gods, and they did it for no reason. They were darn lucky to emerge from a trio of tough games with a 1-1-1 record after Saturday's 3-2 shootout win over the Seattle Kraken.
You might call it the Curse of Zach Metsa.
The Sabres sent the rookie defenseman down to Rochester after their California road trip, and it was initially an explainable move. After all, who's going to crab about literally anything done by a team on a 33-6-3 run?
Sabres defenseman Zach Metsa looks to shoot during a game against the Lightning on March 8 at KeyBank Center.
Joed Viera, Buffalo News
The Sabres had Conor Timmins coming back from injury for the first time since December and still have Michael Kesselring and Luke Schenn around as scratches. The clear thinking was to get Timmins some games and perhaps look at Kesselring again as well, in a pairing with newcomer Logan Stanley.
Metsa, who doesn't need waivers, could go to Rochester and return to his role as Amerks captain for a few games. Play 20-plus minutes a night in all situations, including the special teams spots he can't get in Buffalo, and ostensibly help the team in its push to preserve its spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Then return to Buffalo.
We know Lindy Ruff and every fan old enough to remember it has PTSD from all the injuries on defense that ruined the Sabres in Game 7 of the 2006 Eastern Conference final at Carolina. Metsa was one of nine on the roster, and the Sabres could get a look at what they have.
But they overthought it. It's well-known that Ruff likes Timmins for his penalty killing and shot-blocking. And new general manager Jarmo Kekalainen just traded for the 6-foot-7 Stanley, so he's going to play.
Metsa, at 5-9 and 198 pounds, was an undrafted Kevyn Adams signing who has blossomed into an NHL player after winning an NCAA title as the captain at Quinnipiac University in 2023. They could give him a break.
But holy moly, did Ruff or Kekalainen or both of them spit in the face of the numbers.
The Sabres have outscored their opponents by an astonishing count of 23-2 when Metsa has been on the ice at 5 on 5 this season. Their goalies have a .989 save percentage when he's on the ice. The team has a 14.7% shooting percentage.
The PDO team, a combination of save and shooting percentages, with Metsa out there, is an ungodly 1.135. These figures are so out of whack that they're almost laughable. You can find a couple of places online that say they're the highest numbers any player has compiled since this kind of tracking started in the late 2000s.
Of course, we're ignoring one key point. Maybe Metsa, who has an old-school plus-20 rating, is just plain steady. He doesn't make terrible passes, doesn't get caught out of position, and has some goaltending luck on his side, too.
Look at what else the Sabres have. Schenn was brought in for locker-room presence and hasn't shown much in the two games he's played. Ruff clearly doesn't believe Kesselring is healthy enough to play, as he's been out of the lineup for nine straight games. Timmins was really good on Wednesday vs. Boston. Not so good since.
Sabres defenseman Conor Timmins passes the puck in the third period against the Kraken on Saturday at KeyBank Center.
Joed Viera, Buffalo News
On one play Saturday, Timmins made a ghastly pass from the right corner through the crease in front of a startled Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. After a third-period turnover by Timmins, the fans in the 300 level to the right of the press box − many of whom gave us the time-tested "Fi-re Kev-yn" chants − produced a simple request.
It went like this: "We want Met-sa. (clap-clap-clap-clap-clap). We want Met-sa. (clap-clap-clap-clap-clap)."
You get the picture. Can't recall a crowd chanting for the recall of a Rochester player who would be playing on the third pair, but that's how glaringly obvious this situation has gotten.
The Sabres won Saturday's game because Luukkonen kept them close enough to rally from a 2-0 deficit and was boffo in stopping Seattle's two shootout attempts.
"I thought we got a heck of a night from our goaltender because I thought defensively we made some big mistakes," Ruff said. "We put them in position to probably score four or five, but I thought 'UPL' was really good for us."
The Sabres also benefited from some absurd overtime strategy from the Kraken, who didn't get a shot on goal in the extra session and seemed more content to play keepaway.
It's as if coach Lane Lambert had no idea his team was 1-5 in shootouts and Buffalo was 4-0. And like the numbers indicated, it was no contest. Tage Thompson and Jack Quinn scored, and Luukkonen stopped Frederick Gaudreau and Kaapo Kakko. It was over in a flash.
A lot of things went wrong in this game. There was goofy officiating, and there was Sam Carrick's double-post wrist shot in the second period that stayed out of the net and became a Bobby McMann goal to put Seattle in front, 2-0, just 17 seconds later.
The Sabres, to their credit, didn't die. They got goals from Rasmus Dahlin and Peyton Krebs to tie the score in regulation and stayed perfect in shootouts. It would have been easy for them to get down in the mouth about things, but they didn't.
"I feel like a lot was going on for sure," Quinn said. "But part of the fun, I guess, is just keeping our emotions in check and trying to keep going."
"It's that time of year where you have to be ready,' Ruff said. "It's stressful. It's unpredictable. You can get good calls. You can get bad calls. You can get borderline calls against you. There's a lot of stuff you've got to fight through."
So given all that, it's important not to create any self-inflicted problems.
Here's my free advice to the Sabres on an easy fix: Get Metsa back. Don't even risk an injury by having him play in the Amerks' game Sunday against Syracuse. He's got to be in the lineup here Tuesday night against the New York Islanders.
Stop messing around with this defense.
